Bears Who Can Attack Denver Weaknesses

The yardage totals look as incredible as the 70 points the Denver Broncos allowed last week.

An NFL team giving up 726 yards looks like a misprint, it's so ridiculous. Denver's defense wasn't as bad in all three games, but definitely struggled in one other game besides the loss to Miami.

It's here where select individual Bears can make the big difference in this game, even if coach Matt Eberflus hopes everyone ignores that last Broncos game and focuses on the task at hand.

"You look at the tape. Again, that's a different skill set that they were playing (against), so I think they set their defense up differently, I'm sure," Eberflus said.

He means the Bears don't quite have the receiver threat and the overall passing game Miami has, so the Broncos can deploy their defensive players differently than last week.

"It's a game-plan defense, so (the Broncos) change and adjust every week," Eberflus said. "So we're going to have to adjust to what we see."

The Bears also have vulnerability on defenses, after giving up 41 points.

"That same thing happened to them and they're not happy about it either," Eberflus said of the Broncos. "It's going to be a battle."

Still, 726 yards alllowed and five touchdowns both passing and rushing for the first time in an NFL game doesn't say the Broncos defense is close to becoming the Orange Crush defense of old.

Here are the Bears who can particularly damaging to Denver's attempt to win for the first time under coach Sean Payton.

1. Khalil Herbert

Trying to establish their own conventional running game -- the running backs -- for once might be the best way to go at Denver and Herbert is someone who can hit them hard on their soft right side of the defense. The Broncos have given up 9.75 yards a rushing attempt around left end, 9.82 yards off left tackle and 6.6 yards off left guard. The wide-zone scheme is the basis for the Dolphins running attack and they used it to overwhelm Denver's defense. It's what the Bears are supposed to be running well, although they've really failed to establish it this season. Even without getting a commitment from coaches to his carries and help balancing the attack with passing by Justin Fields, Herbert has averaged 4.0 yards. If they actually make the commitment in wide zone against this defense Herbert can have a huge game.

2. Roschon Johnson

They could use Johnson the same way as Herbert in the wide zone and attack more with power than speed in his case. They could even do it with D'Onta Foreman if so inclined. His power running off one cut to the edge or inside tackle can help collapse a defense. Johnson's all-around skills have been apparent since rookie camp and his ability to break tackles was on display again last week. He could be close to starting, he's been so effective at 5.3 yards a carry.

3 Justin Fields

Everybody screaming for Fields to get more carries, either planned or otherwide, might not realize he's carrying it only 2.6 times per game less than last year. Then again, those 2.6 carries he's not getting could result in some of the breakaway runs he used to get. Either way, Fields carrying around end and not necessarily on RPO but on keepers, can create issues for the Broncos edge on either side.

4. Darnell Wright

The Bears rookie has been their best blocker so far according to Pro Football Focus. They have him graded the 11th best run blocker in the NFL. If Braxton Jones was healthy, they might have two of the better run-blocking tackles to attack the Broncos' edges. He's and Larry Borom will have to do at left tackle. But Wright getting out and using his size and athleticism can set off their running game.

5. DJ Moore

If the Bears can run the ball consistently finally, then Moore could be the big-play receiver the Bears anticipate. Play-action deep and anywhere else can get Moore the extra half step he'd need to be in position for yards after the catch. Moore had a downfield drop last week and can be expected to bounce back like veterans usually do from embarrassing moments.

6. Yannick Ngakoue

Why would Ngakoue be effective here after just one sack in three weeks? Take a look at a statistic many criticize Fields about. The average time to throw by Russell Wilson so far, according to NextGen Stats, is a good deal slower than with Fields. Wilson will hold the ball and he's not the 25-year-old speedy scrambler he used to be. He's not slow but isn't the threat to go long distances on a scramble. Fields holds the ball 2.99 seconds and is getting rid of it .13 seconds faster than last year according to NextGen Stats. Wilson is holding it 3.11 seconds, better only than Bryce Young and Zach Wilson. If he's holding it longer, the difference between nothing and a pressure can be accounted for there. It can also be the difference between a sack and a pressure.

7. Tremaine Edmunds

Edmunds suffered an injury, left the game but could have returned and is healthy for this game, according to Matt Eberflus. Edmunds also put two vicious hits on ball carriers last week and will be the one waiting for Wilson if he decides to scramble. Wilson is averaging 8.1 yards for seven runs. If he can maintain that it would be a career high and it would be better than Fields' average last year. Not every team has a middle linebacker as fast and big to handle the quarterback runs, so Wilson will need to be down sliding on the turf faster.

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